Updated: October 7, 2020 7:42:37 am
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Senior BJP Leader and MP CM Sushil Kumar Modi during a press conference ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections in Patna on Tuesday (PTI)
On a day of heated political action in Bihar, with three weeks to go until the first phase of the assembly elections, the BJP was quick to reassure its senior partner JD (U) after the LJP that had left the alliance in the state, caught at least two BJP leaders and raised the possibility of running them as candidates against JD (U).
With an irate chief minister, Nitish Kumar, delaying his appearance at a joint press conference on Monday, the BJP issued a hasty statement in which it trusted him and declared that he would continue in office if the alliance returned to power regardless of the strength of your seat.
The party also sent a symbolic signal to the seal a formula that gave JD (U) an additional seat. According to the final arrangement, JD (U) was assigned 122 seats and BJP 121. As for the other partners, the HAM led by Jitam Ram Manjhi will get seven seats from JD (U) and the VIP from Mukesh. Sahni six from the BJP.
Indeed, the JD (U) and the BJP will compete from 115 seats each.
Explained | Against JD (U), but with BJP: making sense of LJP’s strategy ahead of the Bihar elections
With matters coming to a head in mid-Monday and the press conference delayed, BJP’s Bihar President Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal issued a statement reiterating the alliance’s faith in Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
Sources said it was only after this move that Kumar agreed to attend the press conference.
At the conference, both sides went to great lengths to declare their mutual support. “We, the (JD (U) and the BJP, have been working together for a long time and will continue to do so … I do not react to what others say. Some people take pleasure in criticizing me,” said Nitish, in an indirect reference the president of the LJP, Chirag Paswan, who had repeatedly criticized the Chief Minister.
Responding to a specific question about Chirag, Kumar said: “I will not speak of others. But I have a long association with (Chirag’s father and Union minister) Ram Vilas Paswan. He is not feeling well, we wish him a speedy recovery. But one would recall that the JD (U) and the BJP had helped him become a deputy for Rajya Sabha. Even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushilji (Kumar Modi) and I campaigned together in various constituencies and LJP won its six seats. “
Speaking for the BJP, Jaiswal reiterated the party’s faith in Kumar. “There is no confusion about the leadership of Nitish Kumar and those who do not accept his leadership cannot be part of the NDA,” he said.
Read also | Bihar Elections: JDU Strikes Back at LJP, Says Exit from Alliance Suicide Act
Amit Shah, Nitish Kumar, Ramvilas Paswan with their son Chirag Paswan during a press conference in 2018
In a show of force, the press conference was attended by senior leaders from both sides: Senior Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Bihar Officer, Bhupendra Yadav and Devendra Fadnavis for the BJP, and State President Bashistha Narayan Singh and Acting President Ashok Kumar Choudhary. of the JD (U).
“Let me clarify once and for all that Nitish Kumar is the CM candidate of the NDA. He has been the CM of the NDA and will become CM again … We have a long association, since 1996, except for a few years in between (during the split of the NDA in 2013), ”said Sushil Kumar Modi.
When asked if Kumar would be CM even if BJP gets more seats than JD (U), he said: “He is our CM candidate in all circumstances. No matter which party gets what, it’s all about the full strength of the NDA. We will get a three-fourths majority. “
Asked why LJP continues to be part of the NDA at the Center, he said: “Ram Vilas Paswan is the Minister of the Center and he has been ill.”
Tension between the JD (U) and the BJP had started to boil on Friday when the LJP stated that it had persuaded BJP State Vice President Rajendra Singh to switch sides and run as its Dinara candidate. Singh is a powerful contender and was a likely CM candidate on the BJP side in the 2015 polls before losing to Jay Kumar Singh of JD (U).
On Monday, another BJP leader, Barun Paswan, switched sides and is likely to compete for the LJP against Kutumba’s HAM. These moves sparked conversations within JD (U) that the BJP was using the LJP “as its fictitious” in the event of an anti-incumbent vote.
While sources in the LJP camp said more BJP leaders could follow, LJP Senior Secretary General Abdul Khalique declined to reveal details or discuss the names of the candidates. However, giving an indication of the game plan, Khalique said: “Our workers will remain the highest priority, but the possibility of winning is always the main factor.”
Meanwhile, sources in the JDU camp also pointed to the LJP camp’s claims that they would use posters with Prime Minister Modi in their campaign, as the party remained a partner of the NDA in the Center. However, Khalique said such a move “was never discussed in the party forum.”
Speaking to journalists, Sushil Kumar Modi said: “We will ask the Election Commission to ensure that only the NDA can use posters of the Prime Minister and the CM… The BJP has progressed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Center and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the state. “
In the evening, adding fuel to the fire, Chirag Paswan continued his attack on the Nitish Kumar government, this time broadcasting a message pointing to alleged corruption in a rural roads and sanitation plan. The message read: “After the next government (in Bihar) is formed, Saat Nischay will be examined and the culprits sent to jail.”
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